Knitted Neck Warmer

I learned to knit not too long ago.  I really love it.
But I wanted to learn to do more than just the basic stockinette or garter stitch fabric.
I've done scarves for the girls but they seem to take a long time.  And face it, what do you need with all that hanging-down part, anyway?

I discovered the answer:  a neck warmer!  Mr. H calls it a turtleneck without the sweater.
Not too long after that, I received an e-mail from Lion Brand Yarns with a link to a sampler afghan.  It gave instructions for several different stitch patterns.  Now I had all the ammunition I needed!

I used a basket weave stitch to make this neck warmer.

The buttons in the top picture are too small and keep coming unfastened, so I looked in the can of buttons that used to belong to my Grandmother Nell and came up with 2 possibilities:

 (I'm leaning towards the white.)

Here are the details if you want to try it:

(Note:  If you've never made a button hole before DON'T PANIC!  Click on the link in the instructions below and practice on some leftover yarn before you start this project.  If you still don't get it, skip the holes and simply attach some loops to the bound off edge.)

Basket Weave Neck Warmer

1 skein Caron Spa (A silky Soft Bamboo Blend)  it's a light weight acrylic/bamboo blend
note added 2/9/11:  (oops, when I originally posted this, I forgot to mention that I used a double strand of this yarn:  that's 2 strands held and knitted together as if it were all one strand.  You can pull one end from the center of  the ball and the other from the outside.  That way you don't have to buy 2.)
#8 (5mm) knitting needles

(If you are using a bulkier yarn, you may want to reduce the # of stitches cast on.  Just remember basket weave requires multiples of 6.  Basket weave is also a reversible fabric.  Either side can be the right side)

cast on 24 stitches
Rows 1-4: *K3, p3; repeat from * to end of row.
Rows 5-8: *P3, k3; repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat rows 1-8 for Basket Weave pattern.
Keep working in pattern until work is long enough to fit around your neck comfortably.
Mine is 16 1/4 inches long, but it fits pretty snugly.  You may want to make yours a bit longer, maybe 17 inches or more if you need to.

When it will fit around your neck, now it's time to decide how big your button holes will be.  The button holes will stretch a bit so the button needs to be slightly bigger, not the same size as the hole.
Click here to see the site I used to learn how to make button holes.

For mine, I knitted (or purled) in pattern for the first 3 stitches, then made a 3-stitch button hole.  Then I continued the pattern until I was 6 stitches from the edge and made another 3-stitch button hole and finished the end of the row in pattern.  Work 3 more rows of your basket weave pattern and then bind off.

Find some buttons that fit snugly through your button holes and sew them on.  I used the same thread/yarn to attach the buttons that I used to knit it.